Ain't they cute. just above our front door. last of the 3rd brood for the season. That's 15 new swallows just this year. Just read thru this whole thread. Nice work friends. Been gone 3 years because I forgot my password HA!

Here are some wild visitors found in my yard here in Michigan.
Here we have a beautiful Ruby Meadowhawk dragonfly.

And uncommon Mink Frog.
A Common Buckeye Butterfly.
And just in case you have heard some bad things about Michigan here is where I spent my vacation. A beautiful getaway in the northern part of the state. A wonderful escape into the wilds of Michigan with no cellphone service and no TV.
Here is a view of the lake from the deck one day after a light warm rain.

_________________"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

Another lizard seen at work - Texas Spiny Lizard, Texas Fence Lizard, or Western Fence Lizard.

This one was a juvenile but adults are good sized, up to 11 inches overal. Adult males have a blue belly and a nasty bite. I snuck up behind my brother once when we were kids and held one to his ear, it clamped on like a bulldog on a bone

I was talking with a neighbor today and told her I had a bear in my backyard. She said she's had a mountain lion in her back yard, and a couple of others have spotted them in our neighborhood. I saw two up the Angeles Crest about 8 miles from my house a number of years ago.

My wife and I visited the wild underworld of Kentucky late last month. This was our second visit to Mammoth Cave National Park. We were on the final tour of the year for Great Onyx Cave. Although part of the park the cave does not connect to the main cave system. The tours through Great Onyx are limited to thirty people and are given totally by lantern light due to no electricity in the cave. The entrance is literally in the middle of nowhere. A hair raising bus ride through the hills and woods down some sketchy trails is the only way to get there. The lantern tour was amazing and our ranger guide was great. We stayed in the park in one of the historic cottages on the grounds. The night sky was spectacular. If you have never experienced a truly dark night sky you will be blown away. The Milky Way was splashed across the sky like billions of diamonds spilled over black velvet. There is so much more to these parks than just the main tourist attractions. We already have a pile of maps and are planning next summer's trip to the wilds of Michigan's Upper Peninsula when the warm weather returns. We had fantastic summer this year that has been a long time coming. Thanks for taking a look.
The cave entrance was behind a heavy iron door through this little stone building built into a hillside.

One of the eight lanterns for the tour that I carried.

Some of the amazing formations.

Our ranger guide told many stories about the cave.

There are ten historic cottages facing the woods just a short walk from the visitors center that are very cozy.
_________________"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann